Barcelona clashed heads with Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium earlier tonight hoping to pick up maximum points on the road. Both teams fought tooth and nail in the early stages of the game, but it was the home side that took the lead in the first half injury-time when Yannick Carrasco found the back of the net.
The Catalans tried their best to make a comeback in the second 45 minutes, but all of their efforts were in vain as the match finished with Ronald Koeman’s players suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat at the Spanish capital.
Let’s take a look at how each Barca player performed during the clash versus Atletico Madrid.
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 5/10
The German goalie will be disappointed for conceding the only goal of the game just before half-time which ruined his chances of a clean sheet.
RB: Sergi Roberto – 7/10
Roberto was defensively strong as he made a few important interceptions and last-ditch clearances for his side. However, he struggled to influence the game going forward.
CB: Gerard Pique – 6/10
The Spanish veteran was always willing to mop up the danger but got replaced after the hour mark.
CB: Clement Lenglet – 7/10
The French centre-back kept things solid at the back and did well to neutralise the threat of Atletico’s Diego Costa during the 90 minutes.
LB: Jordi Alba – 7/10
Alba didn’t do much wrong in defence and engineered some glorious chances for his teammates from the left flank.
CM: Frenkie de Jong – 6/10
He produced a battling display at the centre of the park but failed to make a telling contribution in the final third.
CM: Miralem Pjanic – 6/10
Similar to de Jong, Pjanic fought for every loose possession but struggled to orchestrate anything of note in the opposition half.
LW: Pedri – 5/10
Pedri was mostly anonymous and failed to make himself useful during this time on the field. He got subbed early in the second half.
CAM: Lionel Messi – 7.5/10
The Argentine maestro was by far Barca’s best hope for an equaliser. However, he was not clinical enough in front of the opponent’s goal.
RW: Ousmane Dembele – 6.5/10
Dembele was a constant nuisance for the opposition defenders due to his energy, pace and dribbling ability. However, his efforts weren’t enough for the visitors to score tonight.
ST: Antoine Griezmann – 6/10
Griezmann had a couple of decent strikes at goal but failed to net the all-important equaliser. The French attacker needs to be more lethal on the offensive end of the field as he is clearly struggling to find confidence.
Substitutes:
LW: Philippe Coutinho – 6/10
The Brazilian international offered very little after coming off the bench.
CB: Sergino Dest – 5/10
Dest did well to fill in for the injured Pique in the final 30 minutes of the match.
RW: Francisco Trincão – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
ST: Martin Braithwaite – N/A
He didn’t do enough to warrant a rating.
